


In the Beginning

by MistressOfObscurity



Series: Omnishambles [1]
Category: The Thick of It (TV)
Genre: F/M, First Meeting, Malcolm is a bit more human than he'd normally admit, Nicola gets tipsy, Pre-Season/Series 03, Prequel to DoSAC, They Dance Together, and wears a tuxedo, bonding over how shit politics can be, making fun of colleagues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-06
Updated: 2019-06-15
Packaged: 2020-04-11 16:30:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,418
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19113481
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MistressOfObscurity/pseuds/MistressOfObscurity
Summary: An alternative version of Nicola and Malcolm's first meeting at a Party Conference before Nicola starts at DoSAC. They both just really need to talk to someone and enjoy a moment of near sanity in the shit storm of politics, this includes getting bit tipsy and dancing together.





	1. The Green Dress and the Tuxedo

**Author's Note:**

> Hey all, so this is my first time writing TTOI stuff, or any fanfic really so hope it's alright.  
> I love Malcolm/Nicola stuff and I'm fascinated by their relationship and the possibilities it has.  
> I hope you enjoy it!

Even in the beginning she stood out to him. 

In a sea of black and white she was the colour. Green.  

She was wearing a green dress. It wasn't even a particularly special one, nothing that would normally stand out if it hadn't been for the background. Then again perhaps that's all that ever makes things stand out, the dull background.

*

Party Conferences were a dull affair Malcolm thought, so many men dressed in formal attire boring each other to death with their continuous droning about fuck knows what. 

Possibly the only thing that could make it worse was that there really wasn't much in the way of ‘real’ work to be done for the rest of the evening, just a huge amount of tedious fucking small talk. While Malcolm could be rather charming when necessary, he had to always be on the lookout for potential threats lurking around the corner or something sinister ready to spring out and cause a shitstorm at any moment. Yet for now, all was quiet. For the moment, Malcolm decided to accept it; he wasn’t feeling too paranoid this evening as he’d sorted all he could out earlier that day. He supposed that was good, but the prospect of spending the night mingling and making awkward small talk wasn’t appealing to him either. If anything, it took more energy than some of the bollockings he gave, as at least they could be somewhat therapeutic. Yet here he was dressed up in his tuxedo (as he had to for these occasions), looking smart with nothing much to do. There was only so long he could babysit the PM and only so long he could stand him. Inevitably when he fucked up, Malcolm would sort it out but he wasn't going to hang around and try to prevent the inevitable.

 

Something caught his eye. A flicker of colour, a lady in a green dress. What on earth was she thinking? That green was far too bright, especially for Malcolm's eyes, adjusted to the ever-looming darkness. She was at the bar sitting down with her back to the world. 

Malcolm didn't really know what possessed him to walk over to her but before he knew it he was taking up a stool next to her.

“Do you mind if I join you?” He asked her.

“Oh no, that’s fine, I mean not at all, as in, no I don’t mind.” the woman replied rather flustered. “Sorry.”

“Not problem, thanks” Malcolm replied somewhat distractedly. In order to stop him thinking about why he’d decided to sit next to this admittedly rather perturbed woman, he hastily took out his phone and started typing furiously. This would save him from awkward small talk, in the short term he hoped. Considering the woman’s ineptness at forming coherent sentences, perhaps it could turn into a long term solution...

 

The woman on the other hand turned away looking rather embarrassed. She’d had a long day at the conference that had been interspersed with calls from her husband about babysitters for the children of which she’d ended up having to sort out. She was tired of it all and sick of having to sort things out for everyone else. To make matters worse her staff hadn’t been particularly up to date or helpful in the past week or so either. She laughed internally, when had they ever been helpful? There was no bloody chance she would ever get promoted with a team as incompetent and useless as them.

While she faced away from him, Malcolm finished his text and took the opportunity to observe her. One of the things that struck him about her was the extraordinary thickness of her hair, it really was rather magnificent. His eyes then wandered to her dress, despite the colour being rather bright for his liking, it really was very nicely cut and was able to accentuate her rather curvy physique... Christ, what the fuck was he thinking?! Despite being tired it didn’t make it okay for him to stare at her like that.

In his peripheral vision Malcolm saw Julius Nicholson walking around, probably looking for someone else he could bore to death and it was only then that Malcolm decided that talking to this lady, whomever the fuck she was, would be preferable to listening to Lord fucking baldi-mort’s ramblings about decreasing the deficit by encouraging cricketers to eat more expensive biscuits.

With a due sense of dread, Malcolm turned to the lady beside him.

“I don’t believe we’ve met before.” Malcolm remarked.

“Oh, no I don’t think we have, I’m Nicola Murray” she replied. She held out her hand and gave him the brightest, most genuine smile he'd seen in a long time. He couldn't help smiling back at her. Not one of those devilish evil smiles he would do to try and scare people, though he wasn't sure how it had turned out. If he did look odd, she was too polite to say anything, which for once was appreciated by Malcolm. Perhaps this wouldn’t be as painful and awful as he expected.

He considered introducing himself but thought better of it as he was sure his reputation preceded him. While there were many helpful things that came from having a fearsome reputation it was nice to be able to just talk to someone every now and again without all that (though he’d never admit that to anyone). Besides, a large portion of the communications department was Scottish anyway so he didn’t stand out in that regard.

 

In the distance Julius seemed to have latched onto Glenn and Hugh who weren’t looking terribly pleased by this. It seemed that Malcolm was safe for now. He decided to focus the attention of the conversation on Nicola, it would help him find out about her (there was part of him that was always working and scheming) and he reasoned that maybe she’d relax a little.

“That’s a nice dress you’re wearing” Malcolm commented.

“Thanks very much, I wasn’t sure about it, thought maybe it was a bit too different. Everyone else seems to be wearing rather drab suits…” she paused.

Malcolm looked directly at Nicola questioningly as she quickly added

“I don’t mean what you’re wearing though! You um, you look very suave actually it really suits you... Oh god, that wasn’t meant to be a pun!” She groaned inwardly, what was she saying?

An awkward silence followed. Malcolm didn’t really know how to respond. This woman, Nicola did seem a bit of a handful.

Nicola had to admit she’d been watching him on an off for a while (after all he really did look rather handsome in that suit-not that she’d tell him that) this evening and he was always rushing around doing one thing or another. She suspected he had quite an important role and with the amount going on at the moment, if she’d been busy and felt tired she could only imagine how he felt.

“Can I get you something to drink?” She offered. Perhaps it’d relax things between them a little. Thus far their conversation had been awkward made all the worse she had to admit, by her. She really just wanted to have a normal (well as normal as you can get in politics) conversation. The small talk shit drove her mad.

Malcolm ran his hands through his greying hair, which Nicola found more attractive than she ought to have. When he looked back up at her with an intense gaze, she could see the conflict and tiredness in his eyes. He had redness around his blue-grey eyes that stood out due to the sharp contrast against his pale face. He looked as if he hadn’t slept much either, which Nicola suspected was down to his work.

“Long day for you too then?” she asked. They shared a knowing look.

“Yeah… fuck” Malcolm sighed. It seemed an unspoken agreement between them to move away from small talk had been made for which Malcolm was glad.

“ I saw you rushing around a fair bit today trying to deal with a lot of the media people-“

“Darlin’ they’re not people they’re fucking hacks. They are lifeless, soulless, wankers whose purpose is to try and fuck above them to move up the hierarchy of microorganisms.”

“I see, I take you work in communications then?” Nicola quipped.

“Aye, that’s right.”

“I should’ve known from the accent really,” Nicola laughed nervously. Malcolm chuckled.

“How about that drink then?” Nicola asked.

“Ah I erm probably shouldn’t have anything to drink… Fuck knows some shitehead will fuck up and ruin what’s left of today for me and I’ll be stuck to sort it out, which I should probably do with a clear head…Thanks all the same though darlin’ it’s appreciated.” he added.

“C’mon, one drink, you look like you could do with one” Nicola replied.

Malcolm considered glaring at her by way of response but decided she was probably right.

“Yeah, you’re probably right… Just for you.” he smiled at her. This time he was sure it was a proper smile.

Nicola blushed a little. Malcolm pretended not to notice.

*

A song comes on the background.

“Oh god!” Nicola groaned. Malcolm raised an appraising eyebrow at her.

“My kids listen to and sing along to this ALL the time, it drives me mad!”

Malcolm broke into a smile and laughed.

“Kids?” He asked.

“Yeah.”

Malcolm was rather taken aback; he raised his eyebrows in surprise. It wasn’t every day you met a female politician with a family that seemed not to have massively fucked up. Malcolm judged this by the fact she’d kept out of the press and he’d never really heard of her.

His brain was still on automatic and started thinking about all the ways this could have negative implications in the press and how he’d spin it. What he’d do to make sure she listened to him, cunning little press traps that he’d set to lead her astray only to leap in with his solution so she would trust him. He had to stop himself; he didn’t want to think about work. For once, he wanted to have a reasonably normal conversation and Nicola seemed to be able to offer just that with the bonus of a bit of an understanding of the shit he was going through.

“Wow!” Was all he could think to say in response.

“How about you?” Nicola asked looking down at the ring on his left hand.

Malcolm looked at her with an expression that she couldn’t quite read. His expressive eyebrows furrowed as he looked down at his own hand. Hardly anyone asked about his life outside politics. The few people who knew him away from politics hardly need to ask.

The lack of questions was mainly as a result of his reaction. If someone in politics asked or made a suggestion about his home, personal or private life he would generally give them a _LOOK_ so severe that it would say it all or give them the most unforgettable bollocking that would ensure they (or anyone else once it got around) felt they couldn’t bring such things up again. It was generally the way the people asked that made him react that way. People in politics he’d met didn’t ask because they cared or worried about him, they’d only want to know for their own benefit, so they could try and have some sort of power over him, which Malcolm couldn’t stand for. He couldn’t fucking trust people with many, if any, details of life outside his and their jobs or he wouldn’t be able to do his properly.

Sadly, this was largely due to the distinct lack of ‘real’ life Malcolm had outside the confines of his job. It just sort of ate away at him, was constantly there, it didn’t rest so a lot of the time neither did he. Due to this, he didn’t really have much time to think about such things.

However, there was something different about Nicola. She seemed to lack the scheming, malice and nosiness of others in politics when she’d asked. For once it just seemed like a question that was honest in its intentions and Malcolm on this occasion didn’t think it was necessary to berate her over it.

Nicola on the other hand was starting to feel her anxiety levels increasing. Should she have asked that? Why did she bring that up? Oh god what had she done? She’d probably ruined everything! It wasn’t any of her business anyway, she barely knew the man. How would she feel if someone was asking her about James? What if she’d brought up something terrible in this man’s life? She hadn’t meant to offend him or do anything wrong. She was about to apologise and say that he needn’t answer if he didn’t want to and sorry if she’d come across nosey when her thought process was interrupted.

Malcolm looked up, a faraway look in his eyes and gently answered

“No, I erm, I don’t have any children myself… I’ve got nieces and nephews though. They’re really quite enough to deal with for me at least. I mean it’s not easy with this job…doesn’t give you much time with…” He paused.

He thought of the weekend he’d spent with his sister and her kids over Christmas… It had been nice to get away from this constant fucking disaster of a job. Malcolm wished he could’ve stayed with them a little longer; it was nice to have the company of proper functioning human beings. He just wished he didn’t have to cover the whole thing up but you couldn’t trust the cunts around the place with anything of importance. Only Sam had known about where he’d been. Malcolm knew he had to be careful with how much he revealed though. He had a reputation to maintain and despite Nicola not seeming to know who he was he had to be very careful.

“It’s really amazing that you’ve got children you know. That’s really something. I mean I admire that, really I do. It mustn’t be easy for you but you seem to be doing alright all the same.”

This time Nicola couldn’t help but blush. 

“You’re right, it’s not easy. It’s hard on your family and no, you never get to see as much of them as you’d like. I’m always messing things around for mine because I’ve got to work late or be at some function. I hate this notion that women should be the main one looking after their children and supporting their husband while he works. It’s as if only men deserve to have someone look after them. Despite the fact I work more than James, he still seems to think it should only ever up to me to deal with the kids and that I should be around to support him. I’m the one who gets dragged along to his fucking work functions as a token to show off to people how supportive I am of him. Even here as an MP I have to deal with the shit I get for being a woman like that somehow defines everything about me. Well fuck that and fuck everyone who thinks that…” She took a gulp of her drink.

Malcolm thought about what she said and really she was spot on so he added

“These jobs are made and designed for some fucking super humans that lack any emotion or attachment to live outside the fucking battle ground of politics. The ideals involve operating in an inhumane way that’d be un-fucking-acceptable in any civilised job. The fact that women are treated even worse is fucking disgraceful; you have more expectations and pressure placed on you and are held to a higher fucking standard by men who can barely operate at all who would fucking crumble under the pressure you have to go through on a daily basis and reduce them to a sobbing crying mess before midday. Yet here we both are, braving it all…”

Had he gone too far? Part of him was screaming to shut the fuck up; he shouldn’t be talking to Nicola, whom he barely knew about how he actually felt! On the other hand, it did feel good to let it out and fucking hell there was something about her that made him feel like it was all right.

Nicola nodded in response she felt that they’d finally reached a point where they could understand each other a bit. It was sad she thought, that this was how they bonded but perhaps that was a way things could begin to change. She still held hope.

“Through all this mess, I still have so many ideas and plans, you know? Maybe it’s mad but I haven’t lost sight of the things I want to do. I believe that maybe one day I will be able to help people.”

Somewhere deep inside, Malcolm imagined what was left of his heart warmed by the innocence and hope that Nicola still had. Despite the world and part of himself against him, he hoped she stayed that way, defied expectation and stayed strong willed. He wanted to help her achieve great things, do what she believed in. It hurt to know that if she became a cabinet minister he’d have to crush it out of her, make her conform to the party line for once he realised, maybe that’s not just what he wanted.

“It’s not madness darlin’, it’s the best reason to be here. You always need to know what you stand for even if you can’t act on it yet otherwise there’s no point. I hope that you can keep sight of your goals and be defiant and fight for what you believe in when the time comes.”

He knew he might have to take it all back sometime in the future and maybe he was giving her false hope but he couldn’t help it. For now, it was the truth and in that moment he wanted something to change so he could show her that.

Nicola stared Malcolm in the eye and tilted her head. Malcolm could tell she was surprisingly touched by his words, something that he hadn’t seen in another person for years.

“You don’t strike me as an idealist you know but you sound like one when you say things like that.”

He breaks the gaze to look down and sigh.

“I’m not really, not anymore but that shouldn’t stop you.”

“Well thank you, I hope it doesn’t.”

He gave her a tired smile. Their eyes met and they shared a moment of deep understanding that, for a reason Malcolm couldn’t quite explain, made him feel lonely.

 

The moment was broken when Nicola’s phone rang. She groaned when she saw it was James and was sorely tempted not to answer it… She huffed then answered it.

“James!” She said in a false cheery voice. There was no reason he’d call her at this hour with good news.

“Hey Nic, have you asked the babysitter if she can do tomorrow because I’ve got this work function and you’re supposed to be coming too?”

“Honestly James does your secretary do anything?! I left messages with her today that the babysitter can’t do tomorrow and that I finish late so no I won’t be coming to your bloody work function because by the time I finish I’ll have to be home-”

“Christ Nicola, I told you about this function AGES ago and I you’re always finding reasons that you can’t be there because god forbid you-“

“Your priorities are pretty messed up James, you should be worrying about who’s going to look after the kids not about your stupid function.”

“I think you should be the one to sort that out Nicola, I don’t think you realise what I’ve had to deal with while you’ve been at your waste-of-time-party-conference that I think is a-"

“What YOU’VE had to deal with!? James you have no idea how much I have to deal with all the bloody time.”

“Well what about the mess that this function might cause? Have you thought of that? I mean you’re just too selfish to come because you think that you’re job is so much more important.”

“To be fair James, I am an MP that is in government that runs the fucking country and oddly enough, I do actually consider that to be pretty important. The main reason that I’m not coming to your fucking work function is because I’m going to have to look after OUR CHILDREN which you would’ve known if you read and listened to your messages, had a decent secretary or, for once, possessed an ounce of fatherly compre-fucking-hension! What you’re dealing with this weekend, that’s fucking nothing compared to the sort of shit I have to put up with and from nobody more than you!”

Nicola hangs up with slightly more force than necessary.

“Twat!” she mutters under her breath. Malcolm raises his eyebrows.

“Christ woman, you nearly sounded like me there!”

“I’d say it’s my way of showing approval and endorsement of such creative insults.”

“I’ll have to start copywriting myself.” Malcolm muttered and Nicola laughed.

“How about that drink then?” Hopefully that'd lighten the mood...


	2. Drinks and Dance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They drink, relax and for the most part it's pretty light hearted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Firstly I wanted to thank everyone for the lovely comments and feedback. It has been very encouraging, thanks so much!  
> Secondly, I'm sorry for not updating sooner.  
> I hope you enjoy it :)

Before long, with a drink to loosen them up a little, the pair began to make up nicknames and make fun of their colleagues.

“See that man over there?” Malcolm pointed in the direction of Julius Nicholson.

“Who, the bald one?” Malcolm nodded by way of response.

“Do you know he introduced himself to me a while back... Not really sure why honestly but he used his whole title.”

“Probably trying to come across as impressive and important.”

“The Rt Honourable The Lord Nicholson of Arnage, that’s a pretty pompous title don’t you think?”

“He’s about as down to earth as a fucking eagle soaring far above surveying his dominion. Sometimes I wonder if you could replace his head with a balloon, I wouldn’t even need to draw on hair!”

Nicola sniggered.

“Although, it’d have to be a helium balloon so it could stay up.” Nicola added.

“Fuck me, even without a head he’d be too much effort.”

“Does he always present himself as that self important?”

“Unfortunately yes, that’s what you get from someone who’s had their head inflated from a young age because they’ve got a fucking snobby family and been carted off to some upper class school for rich wankers that teaches you to be a condescending prick. That plus he’s had success in the private sector and thinks of himself as some kind of genius, or maybe he’s an ideas man! If he had a good one, it may begin to convince me of some higher fucking godly power because let me tell you, it’d be a fucking miracle.”

Nicola chuckled, there was something very satisfying about listening to him describe and utterly destroy their fellow colleagues, especially the ones who presented themselves as better than the rest. They could certainly get off their high horses she thought and was more than happy to let this Scotsman tell them so, he did seem to have rather a knack for it.

“Who on earth is that man over there? He looks like he should be working in menswear!” Nicola said as she pointed toward Glenn.

“Ah, yeah, that’s Glenn Cullen. Menswear you think?”

“It’s the way he presents himself, look at how he stands. He looks like he’s ready to point you in the direction of whatever it is you’re looking for.”

“Like one of those people who stands or more precisely, just fucking loiters in those fancy shops asking you if they can assist you?”

“Yes, exactly!”

“Ha, no Glenn’s alright you know. Bit daft at times but overall he’s alright compared to the others cunts.” Now it was Nicola’s turn to look surprised.

“Really?”

“What? Would it make you feel better if I told you he was a, um, a useless incompetent idiot who wastes my time?”

“Maybe a little bit, I guess you don’t really seem the sort to pay compliments to the people you work with.” She hadn’t meant to sound snide but it probably come out that way she belatedly realised.

“What the fuck’s that supposed to mean?!”

“I just meant-”

“I am fucking capable of complimenting people when I want to, yeah? I believe it was _me_ who said you had a nice dress, didn’t I?”

Who the fuck did she think she was? He knew that he was rude, unpleasant and sometimes down right awful to people he worked with but it was like speaking to Nicola took that away. He wasn’t the same person with her, he could be kinder, funnier, enjoy himself without having to watch everything he said. Now, fool that he was, he’d gone and fucking shown her what a cunt he could be to people when he hadn’t meant to at all. He wanted to keep that to himself this evening, live without that but he was forced to admit perhaps it was a bigger part of him than he’d like to imagine.

 

Nicola had begun worrying too. Sure, it was fun to see him make fun of people but when the time came would he talk to other people about her in the same way he’d talked about them? Her initial reaction was that of course he wouldn’t, because she was different but then immediately dismissed that. Of course she wasn’t special to him, just another face, another person like all the rest.

“Yeah but that was different, I mean, it was just, well, you probably wouldn’t have said that if we knew each other…” Her statement hung in the air and an awkward silence followed.

She wasn’t expecting that. She’d expected that he’d agree with her and confirm that it was only small talk; it wasn’t as if he’d really meant it or would ever be that nice in a work situation.

After a pause, in a very soft voice Malcolm replied

“Do you honestly think that if I knew you, I would never say something nice like that to you again?”

“I don’t know… Maybe… I guess I’m worried that I’ll just become like one of them to you.” Nicola hadn’t meant to admit that, she felt silly for admitting it as it shouldn’t matter what someone she barely knew thought of her, should it? It felt like it did though for a reason she couldn’t quite explain.

His response surprised them both. He thought about everything she’d said so far, how different she seemed, how refreshing that was and how he’d liked it. She’d been nice to him, asked him questions about his life with no malice or evil intent. Now he’d gone and made her feel like she would end up the same as the rest of the fuckwits around him. He hoped she wouldn’t, really he did and he needed her to see that.

“You don’t seem like them.” Malcolm said in the most sincere voice he could muster.

“Really?” Her expression softened a little.

“Yeah, all those things you said earlier. They make you different, they make you stand out and they show that you’ve got the guts to stand up for what you believe in. You actually seem to care, you seem like… like a decent human being. Considering how many people I’ve seen come and go that means something. I don’t think you’re not like them Nicola…But do _not_ go letting that on or I’ll cut your hair off and give it to Julius for a wig.”

For a second Malcolm thought perhaps he’d ruined the moment but Nicola did look surprisingly moved by his words. Maybe she did mean something, even just a little to him after all. That did make her feel quite proud really so she went on and laughed then added

“Probably wouldn’t hurt to take a bit of it, I do have rather a lot of hair. I’ll call you next time I have it cut.” They both laughed.

 

*

 

“Not out dancing then?” Malcolm asked as he leaned toward her. A drink or two really had calmed him down. His expressions were so much less harsh now; he looked more relaxed, happier, and generally more attractive. Again, not that Nicola was interested at all; it made no difference at all she told herself… Except that James was a twat and hadn’t really wanted anything to do with her for quite some time. She really should be careful though, she had children to consider… Despite all of that, she was enjoying her time with this man. He made her laugh and feel more relaxed than she had been in a long time.

“Haha, no, I think I’d just embarrass myself. I haven’t had quite enough to drink to gain that sort of confidence yet,” Nicola laughed.

“Well _someone_ certainly has” Malcolm said gleefully as he spun her around on her stool so she could see, while taking out his phone to video Ollie bumbling around in a way that he supposed was meant to pass for dancing.

Nicola turned to see what he was talking about. A tall, lanky, gangly young man was indeed making a bit of a fool of himself dancing, if you could call it that, in the middle of the dance floor all by himself.

“He looks like one of those weird air dancer things,” She giggled.

“Or a piece of moving bonito flake” Malcolm added thoughtfully.

“He’s certainly thin enough for it.” They smiled at each other.

“I feel like he’s lessened my incentive to go anywhere near that dance floor now.” Nicola said.

“I’d have thought it’d encourage you. I’m sure you’re better at dancing than that uncoordinated disheveled cunt.”

“Considering the state I’d have to be in before I’d be able to get out there, I wouldn’t be so certain if I were you.”

“Are you asking me to buy you another drink then?” Malcolm queried raising an eyebrow at her.

“Hang on, no, I didn’t mean it like that!” she said playfully slapping Malcolm on the arm. He ordered her another mojito while giving her a wicked smile.

 

*

“So what do you say?”

“To what?”

“A dance?” Malcolm waggled his eyebrows at her in a humorous attempt to seem seductive. Realising he probably looked a bit silly he tried to look more serious but it was too late and Nicola was already laughing.

“What’s so funny?” he said struggling to keep a straight face. This just made Nicola laugh more.

“Now you look like a confused and grumpy owl!”

“For fucks sake, honestly the things you come up with… ” He said rather endearingly “You coming?” he held out his arm.

She knew she shouldn’t dance with a rather attractive Scotsman in a tuxedo after having drunk 2 (or was it 3??) drinks recently but most of her rationality had gone out the window so she nodded fervently (which made her feel a bit dizzy) and took his outstretched arm.

 

Despite the swearing he was a lot gentler and considerate than she’d have initially supposed. There were times she’d try and move one way, overcompensate and end up loosing her balance. Damn, these heels were not good to dance in after having a few drinks… Every time he’d catch her though, making sure she was ok and she’d giggle in response knowing this whole thing was ridiculous but loving it nonetheless. Every so often he’d mutter something under his breath like

“Daft lass…” but they both knew he didn’t mean it in a rude way. It was strange that someone who swore so much and could be so destructive with his language could so easy use it for quite the opposite effect. Nicola noted that his accent seemed to get thicker the more alcohol he had too which she found both hilarious and a tiny bit appealing.

 

Malcolm hadn’t known what had overcome him to ask Nicola to dance with him. It was probably the alcohol he’d had, or so he told himself. That and the fact that he hadn’t actually thought she’d say yes. Yet now here he was trying to make sure she didn’t fall over and hurt herself in her dizzy, slightly-more-than-tipsy state. He was after all a gentleman, when it came down to it, he wouldn’t just let her fall in a heap in those heels. When she moved it was rather sensual, her curvy body in that lovely green dress. Malcolm, now tipsy, admired her more openly as she moved around him.

 

As the music slowed she approached him and moved to dance more closely with him. He’d initially tensed up, his heart rate accelerating; he hadn’t been this close to someone for a long time. He hoped Nicola didn’t notice his tense uncertainty; it was after all actually quite nice (he discovered quickly) to be in close proximity to another person. He subtly looked around to make sure nobody was paying to close attention to the fearsome Malcolm Tucker dancing, now in very close proximity to a female MP. Malcolm noted that people were either too drunk or not paying attention to their surroundings. Slowly and carefully he began to relax and move his arms around her waist, he reasoned that this way if she unexpectedly slumped he’d be able to catch her, yet part of him yearned for more physical contact. He looked down at her to see if that was ok. By this point she had moved closer and was leaning on his shoulder staring up at him with a gaze that was sleepy, lustful and frankly gorgeous, Malcolm decided he absolutely loved it so he couldn’t help but smile down at her and place his hands on her lower back. His conscience should’ve be screaming at him to stop whatever the fuck this was but it wasn’t because for once all the scheming, the lying, the unhappiness was gone and he was doing something that he was actually enjoying and no part of him was determined or disciplined enough to stop him.

 

While in his arms Nicola felt so much more at home than she had in James’ for many years. She couldn’t remember the last time James had actually wanted to dance with her purely for fun, probably sometime before her last pregnancy. Even so, it was even longer since she’d enjoyed it. James always was a very energetic sort that had to show off. He didn’t have time to go slow every now and again and actually spend time doing things with Nicola for any long stretch of time. It was nice to be with someone more patient. Of course she should’ve been thinking about what she was doing. She should’ve be worrying about the fact that she’s married and despite that dancing with someone that she doesn’t really know. But all worry had long since left her mind and she was in a state of bliss that she hadn’t experienced in so, so long. It was intoxicating and wonderful and she never wanted it to end. When he gazed at her with that intense stare she felt like she was melting…

Neither of them uttered a word, afraid it would ruin or break the moment of peace they’d both found.

 

Unfortunately, they were interrupted by Malcolm’s phone ringing. They both breathed out not having realised they were holding their breath. It was Malcolm that spoke first.

“I, um, should probably get that.” He said as he regrettably unwinds his hands from Nicola and reached into his pocket to answer his phone.

It’s the PM, of fucking course. Who else could ruin a moment as spectacularly as him? Malcolm’s expression turns into a glower.

“Hello boss, what’s up?” Nicola heard him answer. She turned and walked back toward the bar to pick up her mojito, she thought that he might appreciate some privacy. Much to her surprise he walked back toward her while listening intently to his phone. There was a pause followed by a

“FUCK!” Nicola got a fright and spilt some of her drink.

All of a sudden it was was like a switch had flipped in Malcolm’s head and Nicola saw it on his face. All the calmness his face had taken on disappeared in an instant taking back the intense features of before.

“Right I’m on it.” He hung up and turned to Nicola who was trying cover up the fact that she’d spilt part of her drink and almost choked. He smiled at her for a millisecond that was so quick Nicola wasn’t sure it had happened.

“Sorry ‘bout that. I erm-”

“Duty calls? Some shitehead along to ruin your evening?” She tried to sound nonchalant but she wasn’t entirely sure that it had worked.

“Something like that yeah…” He replied somewhat distractedly as he received a text.

“Look, this um,..- whatever this was, it was, nice…” Nicola stated and it made Malcolm look up at her. He looked her right in the eyes and replied

“Yeah, it was, it was lovely to meet you, Nicola.”

As he passed her, he leaned down and whispered “See you around darlin’ ” into her ear, which sent a shiver down her spine in a nice way if that was possible…

She turned and looked at him with that expression he adored again and smiled. Malcolm walked off rather abruptly before he changed his mind and did something fucking insane like tell the PM to sort himself out for once.

 

*

 

It was only when he left that Nicola realised she didn’t know his name. Typically, she thought to herself. One of the only people who you manage to get along with in this fucking party of upstart pricks and you don’t managed to get his name. At any rate, he was much better company than any of the people at any of James’ fucking work parties…

 

*

 

On his was back into London the next day a thought occurred to Malcolm. He pulled out his Blackberry. There were so few people Malcolm could honestly say he'd taken a liking to, no matter how slight. Since the occasion was so rare he thought he ought to call Sam and tell her to make a note of that woman's name.

"Sam? Yeah, could you please make a note of the name 'Nicola Murray'? I think she may prove useful sometime..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm thinking of incorporating this into a series about unseen moments between Malcolm and Nicola... Would that be something people are interested in?

**Author's Note:**

> Please let me know what you think, feedback would be really appreciated! :)


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